Foreign
by Miren and Rhun
Summary: Based on prompt 27 of the 100 themes challenge - Foreign. Iago's thoughts throughout parts of the second movie, his battle with emotions he's never before had to face, and his attempt at comprehending them. One sided Iago/Aladdin drabble.


**Author: Flash Gator**

**Category: Aladdin**

**Couple: Iago/Aladdin (one-sided, drabblish)**

**Genre: Romance/Angst**

**Warnings: Slash, beastiality if you want to get technical, though nothing **_**actually**_** happens.**

**Length: 2153 words. One-Shot.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the movie Aladdin or any characters mentioned forthwith. This is a work of fanfiction, and is therefore not canon to the movie.**

**I wrote this for 'prompt 27. Foreign' of the '100 themes challenge' I am undertaking. It's not great, though the first of its kind couple wise I believe. Those adventurous among you are free to soldier on. I can't promise you'll like it, but at least it's here if you want to give it a shot. Those against the couple, homosexuality etc. are advised to navigate away from this page. I accept flames, but don't be childish. You knew the couple it was for. If you knew you wouldn't like it, why read it regardless? Twats.**

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27. Foreign

The whole idea of it was foreign to him.

Even before his run in with Jafar, his 'Oh so High-and-Mighty'-ness, he had been the crude, selfish, insensitive bird he had always been, and still was.

From the moment he had left the nest, he had been shunned by the world's inhabitants. He was no ordinary bird, after all. He spent his early years around the humans, learning their language and remembering it as no other bird had done before. He was no mere parrot. He had learnt of greed, and how the lust for gold could drive a man to madness. But he also learnt that accumulating the desired wealth could make ones dreams come true. He learnt about the advantage of power, anger, deceit and felony. Agrabah had been cruel to him, and so he in turn learnt how to be cruel.

Or, at least, he thought he had.

This recent turn of events contradicted that notion, and had turned his wonderfully twisted little world right on its head.

In the space of the last two days, he had managed to save that stupid little street rats life _three_ times! He wasn't sure what had come over him. Or, moreover, he had an inkling, but dreaded its reality.

He _knew_ it was a bad idea to stick around the palace as soon as he'd arrived there. Locked in a cage, almost eaten by a tiger and stabbed at by the palace guards, he was ready to leave no more than 20 minutes after his arrival. Of course, then Aladdin had to go and be all _noble_ and take responsibility for him.

Stupid kid.

He'd been stunned then. Foolish an act as it was, taking responsibility for someone like Iago, it was the first time anyone had actually ever done anything, well,_ nice _for him.

He was, admittedly, touched.

If he had known it was only going to go downhill from then on for him, he would have high-tailed it out of the palace at his first opportunity to do so.

But for the next few days, he was able to drown his worries in the wealth's palace life offered. The food, the comfy pillows, the riches.

The _trust_.

And that had been another blow to the gut right there. Aladdin _trusted_ him. Even Jafar hadn't trusted him as far as he could throw him, not unless he had some way of destroying Iago should he betray him.

But this kid who barely even knew him, who he had done naught but wrong to, insisted on the good within him and placed his trust in him. And all because he had accidentally saved him in the bazaar.

What a guy.

And Iago wasn't entirely sure what to do about that. Should he act any differently? Should he honestly try to change, when he wouldn't even be the one punished should he do something wrong?

And then of course, while he was still in conflict with himself, trying to sort all this out, big red and ugly had returned and ordered him to, in no uncertain terms, betray Aladdin's trust. And he did. Not just because he would be toasted over a roaring fire should he disobey Jafar, but because it was what he was used to, it was his niche in the world, and it was easiest for him.

He never would have thought, hadn't even considered, that it would hurt him this much to betray him. To give up the street rat he had only just met to Jafar. He was the closest thing he'd ever had to a friend, and betraying him had hurt him probably just as much as being roasted on a spit.

When he'd discovered the kid's sentence as Jafar taunted the Princess, something inside of him snapped. He couldn't let the kid die. Not after all he'd done for him. He wasn't sure he'd be able to cope afterwards.

If someone had told him he was beginning to love the kid, at that point, he would have laughed at them.

So he freed the Genie who snatched Aladdin from the jaws of death in the nick of time, and returned him safe and sound. The kid has been so angry with him, and he could feel the palpable throb of his fury through that glare. Anger was something he understood, but had decided that, in this instance, he didn't very much like.

But when he had found out that Iago had saved them, had saved_ him_, the anger washed away and happiness radiated off the street rat. If it hadn't sounded so sentimental and mushy, he would have called the mere feel of that moment beautiful.

And it was at that point he realised that something was seriously wrong with him. He bid himself a hasty retreat then, leaving everyone else to deal with Jafar. He'd already saved several lives today; his part in this was done. He flew into the canopy of a tree and leant heavily against the trunk, rubbing his face in his hands. What was so special about the kid anyway? Why couldn't he stop thinking about him? He could even see him now, from the vantage of his perch, as he and his friends took on the genie Jafar. From here he could observe every slugged fist, every magical blast, every injury received, as he shuddered in fear against the rough bark. Even at this moment, when he would rather be far away on the other side of the globe, relaxing under the pretence that none of this was happening, he couldn't seem to drag himself away from the kid. He had to keep him within sight, made sure he didn't get hurt, not that he would be able to do much should he get hurt at any rate. But the idea of leaving him here was just…painful. And he knew it wasn't just Jafar that had him quaking in fear against a tree, it was also the fear of his own feelings, the terror of what they may mean.

The ground trembled as Jafar tore fissures into the Earth, opening a lava pool in which Aladdin and Jafar's lamp floated on separate dirt mounds. Aladdin slipped as he tried to reach for the dark lamp and he felt his tiny heart thud against his ribs in a frenzied panic. This was becoming too much to bear for him, and he felt himself longing for those days when he could turn his back on scenes such as this with a spring in his step and a flick of tail feathers, but now he could do nothing but stare.

And then Jafar was laughing and Aladdin was running out of room on his small island and the lamp was so far out of reach…

As he saw Aladdin ready himself for the final blow he flung himself from the tree and bee-lined straight for the obsidian lamp, travelling at as fast a velocity as his little wings could propel his small, pudgy body. He couldn't see the kid die. He wouldn't be able to handle it, he realised, and so he had to destroy Jafar, or at least distract him long enough for Aladdin to escape. Somewhere at the back of his mind common sense screamed at him to stop, this was suicide! But he couldn't, he had to save the kid. He _had_ to.

He managed to get within a few feet of the lamp before Jafar overcame his shock and blasted him. Rivulets of pain wracked his body, and he collapsed in a feathered heap alongside the lamp he had been trying so earnestly to reach, too weak to do more than breathe and gaze at the scene before him.

Aladdin hung from his small dirt island, seemingly ignorant of the fact that it was swiftly sinking into the magma beneath them, eyes fixed stubbornly, furiously on Jafar's. The light radiating from the molten rock illuminated his face, his raven hair, his strong posture, and Iago stared, transfixed, as Aladdin stood tall against his enemy, forever brave in the face of looming defeat. And again Iago realised that he couldn't let him die, couldn't ever bear to see that spirit extinguished. And so, calling upon the last vestiges of his strength, he raised one clawed foot and pushed the lamp into the flaming depths below.

As consciousness left him and he felt the rock beneath crumble away, he felt something warm curl about his limp body and lift him from the fire, and it took him a few moments to realise just what, or rather who, that someone was.

Iago awoke a couple of minutes later to the dull throb of pain and the murmur of voices. Too weak to be bothered with opening his eyes, he lay on the warm surface he had awoken to find himself on, waiting for his mind to clear. It took only a moment before everything flooded back to him, and he realised that it was _Aladdin's_ hand he was nestled in, _his_ warmth that was soothing the pain of his injuries. Relief washed over him as it registered that he had managed to kill Jafar, that Aladdin was alive, that they were _both _alive, and that he wouldn't have to part from him anytime soon. Well, assuming they'd still have him. He wasn't sure what he'd do if he was cast out, he wasn't entirely sure he would be able to last away from the street rat anymore, and that_ terrified_ him.

But overriding that fear was a feeling of…well, he wasn't sure. Contentment? Joy? Love? He didn't know, but surely it was something along those lines. But Iago had never been shown love, so he had never learnt how to love. How could he feel something he didn't know_ how_ to feel?

But something was sure, the street rat inspired feelings in him that no one had ever inspired in him before. They were intense and warm and resolute, stubborn and immoveable, and they cloyed at him and smothered him in heat, but when he tried to lock them away a cold emptiness swelled within him and he couldn't decide which he preferred.

But suppose it was love? How did this happen! How was he supposed to _deal_ with this? He couldn't allow himself to love anyone, least of all the street rat. Iago always looked out for numero uno, he never did anything that would incur harm upon him. And so he knew he couldn't do this, had to _stop_ this, as he knew it would only hurt him because Aladdin loved Jasmine and she loved him and they were perfect for one another, and there wasn't a chance in hell that he would even be spared so much as a second glance. He would have better luck with the monkey! At least he was the same size. A parrot and a human? How would _that_ work?

He briefly registered the sound of sniffling above him before Aladdin's face came into contact with his sore, feathered torso. His heart beat a humming drone in his chest, ricocheting against his ribs in its frenzy. He felt the dampness of tears seep into his charred plumage as he became surrounded by warmth which made his breathing quicken.

And he decided right there that he didn't mind the size difference quite so much, because he rather enjoyed the feeling of being engulfed in warmth. And he had to stop himself there, mentally shake his head, snap himself out of it, and remind himself that he didn't like anything or anyone, except money. Because that was all he knew. He couldn't allow himself to enjoy this. He didn't know how to. But he didn't know how to stop himself from it either.

As Aladdin pulled away and the warmth receded he decided it would be a good idea to inform everyone that no, he wasn't dead, so they could quit crying over him and go get him a band aid because he was _hurt_.

A wheezy cough and a muttered sentence were all he could manage, but even that was enough to lift everyone's spirits. Aladdin grasped him tighter in his arms and again his heart beat faster, which was really beginning to get annoying. Was he going to react like this to every little thing the street rat did? Trying to keep himself from feeling this way for the kid had been hard enough; he didn't want to encounter problems keeping it a secret from everyone else too. He still wasn't even sure exactly what it was he was feeling for the kid, only that it was far, _far _more than he should feel. So much as caring for someone was, as a rule, beyond him. But love? If that was indeed what he was feeling…

The whole idea of it was just so…

Foreign.

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**Well, what can I say? Yes, I am that twisted? Eh, it's not like anything actually happened. Besides, I can choose to support whichever couples I like, it's none of your concern.**

**At any rate, I hope you liked it. If not, then ah well, you gave it a shot. I would appreciate people not moaning at me for twisting what happened in the movie here and there. I didn't do much anyway, but I assure you I don't need to be fed the tidbits, I am well aware what I changed. And please no 'but Iago, liek, SO isn't ghey!' comments. I swear I get these all the time for my fictions. Only about other characters, of course. When I say this work of **_**fanfiction**_** is not canon to the movie, I mean not everything is the same as it was in the movie. So here, Iago can be gay if I so choose him to be. Get over it. If it makes you feel any better he's bisexual. Happy now?**

**At any rate, thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated from those with open minds and a without a religious vendetta against me. Concrit welcomed, flames grudgingly accepted. I am also aware this fanfiction needs going over some more, which I will do bit by bit in the future. I just want this uploaded and out of the way for now.**

**-Flash**


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